Japan has rejected the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) advice to expand the evacuation zone around the quake-striken nuclear plant where radiation hit 4,000 times legal limits in the nearby sea.

“We have advised (Japan) to carefully assess the situation,” said Denis Flory, a deputy director general of the IAEA, reiterating warnings that radiation in Litate village, 40 kilometers (25 miles) away from the plant, has reached the evacuation level, Reuters reported on Thursday.

According to the UN body, radiation in the village exceeded a criterion for evacuation.